Hudsonville: Tales of the Hunted

Chapter 12: The Split

The smell of smoke was carried along by the southbound breeze—the group's attention was brought toward a small stack of it just over the tree line. Parked just outside the camp, a red pick-up truck sat, the cooling engine giving off a gentle hiss. A campfire cracked nearby, accompanied by a large man in a ten-gallon hat. Hearing the snapping of sticks and crunch of fallen leaves, the man's bearded face turned upward.

"Hey, son." said Martin.

The group stayed quiet while Andy ran to embrace his father. The two held together like glue for a good long moment, Martin caressing the boy's poofy head, Andy burying his face in the old man's shoulder. It almost looked as though the both of them would cry, though as touching as it might have been, the reunion was cut short upon the realization of the others' presence.

Gently, Martin began to push Andy to the side, stepping one foot out in front of the boy, getting between him and the monsters that followed. Though the old man was not outwardly hostile, the others kept their distance.

"...You wanna introduce me to your friends?" Martin asked.

Andy nodded and pointed to each of them.

"Everyone, this's my dad, Martin. Dad, this's Cici."

"Hiya!" Cici greeted with an excited wave. Drew had to hold her back by the shoulder before she got too close. Martin was privy to the fact that he'd likely be meeting monsters, though whatever it was he initially had in mind, it did not compare to the strangeness that was Cici. Still, his son seemed to trust the girl enough...enough for him to not try and mow her down, anyhow.

"The redheaded fella is Drew," Andy said. Drew gave a casual salute. He was more along the lines of what Martin had expected. Scraggly looking, feral, just something a little off about the guy. The skunky smell of the man wasn't missed either. Martin kept a close eye on him.

"And then this here's Tanya," Andy said. "She don't really talk too much."

Tanya sneered. She had already been made more than aware of the fact that they'd be meeting with a Human. There were so many procedures being ignored, so many customs this was breaking, so much she'd be disregarding...but it hardly weighed on her conscience as much as it should have. If the big wigs got to bend the rules as much as they did, why couldn't she? To be entirely honest with herself, Tanya didn't care. So long as they didn't decide to bring it home with them, this group could talk to as many humans as they wanted. Martin's eyes followed her twitching hand down to her side. He could tell how much she wanted to grab that knife of hers, the amount of restraint it took not to do so. He could feel about as much in his own hands, hovering over his holsters, itching to pull the trigger.

Hah. That was another thing they seemed to have in common; Discipline. The two crossed their arms near simultaneously.

"So, they helping out?" Martin said abruptly.

"Helping with what?" asked Drew.

Before Martin could answer, Andy was stepping back out between everyone, trying to get their attention.

"Just a sec. Would y'all mind if I got a moment or two with my dad? Alone?"

The group looked to each other and exchanged shrugs.

"Go for it," said Drew.

"Thanks," The boy pulled Martin off to the side, far and away from the campfire, into the surrounding grove to help drown out their voices.

"Everything okay?" Martin asked.

"Yeah. Just wanted to make sure we're on the same page."

"What's going on"